Before the ARK
by Sakura Courage Solo
Summary: What if Shadow wasn't actually created from Black Doom's DNA, but simply infused with it to make the Ultimate Life Form? What if Shadow went 3k years into the past to find his true origin, and the origin of the Chaos Emeralds to boot?
1. Revelations of the Past

**"Before the ARK..."**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

**Author's Notes:  
**_Yes, I know, I should be working on "Next Level Underground", "Kage no Ai" and stuff like that. In my defense, I had a couple more chapters of "Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: Revised" done MONTHS ago, but my floppy disk where I keep my fanfics stored screwed up and I lost them, and I got discouraged on writing it over again, but I may finish it yet. I dunno. Does anyone know how to repair/recover damaged floppy files?_

_Anyway, this is supposed to be Author's Notes about the fanfic. Well, I always wondered in the back of my mind... was Shadow REALLY created with Black Doom's DNA? Assuming he 'created' Shadow at all... and then it hit me, what if Shadow was in existence BEFORE he was on Space Colony ARK, and Professor Gerald and Black Doom only 'Created the Ultimate Life Form' by editing an already living and breathing Hedgehog, infusing him with Black Doom's DNA? This story will also contain... 'dun dun dunnnn'... the origin of the Chaos Emeralds!_

_Well, that's what this story is about. I hope you like it. I know, it may be corny at some parts, but bear with me. n.n; Leave me reviews!_

_Oh, and a new trilogy of Chapters in "Next Level Underground" IS coming, so hang tight!_

**Disclaimer:**  
_I don't own Shadow, okay? If I did, he would've been in Sonic Underground and wouldn't have used profanity in his own game! 'brick'd' What? Profanity killed that game for me. v.v; Plus... come on, Shadow and Manic in the same TV series? That'd be spankin' and you people know it. XD_

_Well anyway, I don't own anything but the plot and perhaps some of the characters, like Emerald, Callista and Dark. So don't sue me! I'm trying to save my money so I can get a pet Hedgehog! n.n;_

-

**Chapter 1**

_"Revelations of the Past"_

-

Small clouds of dust lifted themselves from the floor as Shadow walked across the dust-covered floors of Space Colony ARK, the Hedgehog's ruby red eyes scanning the dark room for the proper computer terminal.

Why had he returned to the ARK? What was the purpose for it? Recently, Shadow had been having odd dreams in his sleep; dreams he thought may be linked with his past...

After the incident with Black Doom though, did he not already know his past? And hadn't he vowed not to look on the past any longer? He felt there was more to it though... in his dreams, he would find himself in a dark, but warm surrounding, seemingly floating in a beatheable liquid in his small, enclosed but very comfortable space as the constant sound of a beating heart gave him an odd feeling of serenity and calmness. He had pondered the dream over many a time and finally came to the conclusion that in his dream, he was an unborn child.

There were times that he pondered if this was only a memory of when he was perhaps in a gestation chamber in one of the ARK's labs, but then why was there the constant sound of the soothing heartbeat? Why the warm and loving feeling?

Shadow felt he had to look into it, and finally, upon coming across the right computer terminal, sat down and booted it up. The computer prompted for a password after the boot, and Shadow typed in "MARIA". Moments after the computer processed the password as correct, Shadow was given access to all of Gerald's files. He sat there for hours, reading over file after file, wanting to know every shred of his past.

Finally, he came across a file that appeared to be the oldest of all. It looked like the file was damaged and unreadable, but Shadow remembered this trick of Gerald's. He remembered he'd taught it to Maria, who used it in her own diary. It was an encrypted in such a manner that it looked like the file was simply corrupted. Shadow smirked softly, simply going to the top of the document and switching the font over. The 'Encryption' was actually nothing more than a strange and unreadable font that Gerald liked to use. So simple, yet no one would ever think of it. It was obvious that even Rouge and GUN hadn't thought of it, as Rouge had all these files on a disk, but she'd never mentioned this file. Shadow read over the now legible text document, mumbling to himself as he read,

"Finally, I have found a way to give Black Doom the Ultimate Life Form that he wants. I only had Black Doom's DNA to work with before, but I had no way to simply clone that DNA as of yet, so I regretfully took a young Hedgehog boy I've recently found and infused him with Black Doom's DNA. I rather hate it the poor boy has to suffer this, but I hope he will understand later it is for the good of the world, and that he forgives me.

This one is more than just a Hedgehog, however. When I found him, he was in suspended animation inside of what appeared to be a large Crystal enriched with Chaos Energy, deep within the confines of the Mystic Cave Zone. I released him and brought him back to the ARK with me. He seems to have gained the ability to wield the Chaos Energy from his time in the Crystal, and it's fortunate he happens to have black and red fur, as do the Black Arms, but he remembers nothing past the fact that his name is Shadow. I can only hope that my plan works, and that in the future, Shadow will be able to defeat the Black Arms with their own power. I pray Black Doom doesn't find out what I'm doing; At least, not until it's time for Shadow to defeat him."

Shadow was stunned as he read the entry. It was proof that he had been found by Gerald and not created by him... this had meant that he had been born naturally, by a Mother and a Father! But who were they?

The Black Hedgehog sat there and pondered for a long while, wanting to know and find out, but Gerald had obviously no idea as to who Shadow's birth parents were, let alone where he'd come from before he was found in the crystal.

"I have to know... "

He finally murmured to himself.

"I've put together one more piece of my past... now I have to finish it."

With that, Shadow got up and walked into one of the labs, beginning to rifle through various experiments and specimens that were in cryogenic containment throughout the facility.

Finally, in one of the lockers where very rare and special experiments were kept, he found what he was looking for; a Time Stone.

"Knew it was in here somewhere."

He mumbled, picking it up. He had often wondered how in the world Gerald had ever attained a Time Stone from the Little Planet, but he had known Gerald had it because he was often warned by Gerald that it was a very dangerous gem and was not a toy.

"Sorry Professor, but this is an emergency..."

He whispered, closing his eyes and beginning to concentrate as hard as he could, speaking softly as the stone began to glow in his hands.

"I must go far into the past... as far as I must... I want to go to my Birthplace and find my origins..."

With Shadow's wish, the Time Stone's glow became blindingly bright...

-

"Guh... what happened... ?"

Shadow grunted as he came around, finding himself laying on sandy ground. He shook his head a little and stood up, finding himself in a small grove of palm trees by a village, a beautiful blue bay visible just off to the side. The Black Hedgehog's eyes widened a bit as he realized he must be in the past now. He glanced around, seeing the Time Stone on the ground nearby and sticking it in amongst his quills, using them for a pocket.

"I hope I'm in the right place at the right time... "

He said to himself, then hearing footsteps coming his way and ducking behind some tropical bushes in reaction. He watched to see who was coming and saw two people. One was a Black Hedgehog that looked almost EXACTLY like himself, but with red beads strung through his quills and a deep scar over his left eye, his feet covered by tall red boots as a red vest hung around his body. This Hedgehog was walking along with a Fox Woman who had scarlet red fur the exact same shade of red as Shadow's highlights, her eyes a crystal blue colour as she wore a simple, white dress over her body. One other detail about this Fox Woman that Shadow noticed was that she was carrying a child, her stomach very large and round as her dress hung over it loosely. Shadow noted that by her size, she looked ready to give birth any time.

As Shadow watched the two, he suddenly got a feeling of familiarity, as if he knew them as he also thought that the Hedgehog looked too much like himself to ignore. That's when Shadow realized something...

The unborn child... he couldn't feel it's life force. Normally, Shadow could sense anyone's life force within a 2 mile radius if he tried, but here the pregnant woman was right in front of him, and he couldn't feel the child's life force... there were only two explanations for why he wouldn't be able to feel it. First, he thought the child might be a stillborn and have no life force left after death, but that was impossible since the Hedgehog had his hand on the Fox's stomach and was commenting on the child's kicking. The only other reason Shadow would be unable to sense the life force was if it was exactly like his own. As one knows though, no two life forces are exactly alike, so therefore...

'That... that's ME!'

Shadow thought to himself as he stared as the Fox Woman's pregnant belly, his eyes wide with the realization as he just stood there, frozen.

-

**End Chapter 1**

-

_Okay, so how did you people like the first chapter, huh? Okay, so maybe the first chapter isn't too tantilizing, but meh, since when is the first chapter of anything really tantilizing, huh?_

_Anyway, I actually already have this fanfic done with 6 chapters, but I'm gonna upload one chapter per day, okay? So chapter 2 will be uploaded tomorrow for your viewing pleasure. Thanks for reading, and please review!_


	2. Threat

**"Before the ARK..."**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 2_

**"Threat"**

-

Shadow could only stand there in shock as he stared at who he now knew were his Mother and Father, his eyes fixated on his Mother's pregnant womb. He could hardly believe it.

As he stood there in his state of shock, the Hedgehog and the Fox now noticed him. The Fox woman blinked and was the first to walk to him, her tail swaying elegantly behind her as she addressed him,

"Um, excuse me, are you all right? You look a bit pale... "

Shadow sweatdropped and managed to regain his composure, shaking his head a bit to clear it before replying,

"I, uh, I'm fine, just... "

The Hedgehog walked forward and stopped beside his wife, looking Shadow over with his good eye before saying,

"Callista, he doesn't look so good..."

The Fox woman nodded to her husband and replied,

"You're right, Dark... should we bring him home and make sure he's okay?"

"That's a good idea, Callista. Okay, come on... "

He gently reached forward and took Shadow's wrist, helping him out of the bushes as he asked him,

"What's your name?"

"It's Sh-... Kage."

Shadow replied, knowing giving his real name may screw up the past, since his unborn self was going to have the same name.

"Kage... that's an interesting name."

Callista said, smiling a bit.

"Well, come along. It will be dark soon, and I need to get dinner on the table."

Shadow simply nodded and began to follow them, Dark then walking alongside his wife and saying,

"Hey, I thought I was making dinner until after you had the kids."

Shadow stopped cold at the pluralization. Had Dark just said... Kids? With an S?

Dark continued, gently patting Callista's stomach.

"Doctor says you'll be having them about anytime now."

As one could guess, Shadow's mind was racing right about now. He knew that it was his past self in his Mother's womb, but he hadn't felt the life force of another child. The Hedgehog pondered if perhaps since it was his twin, the life force was too close to his own to detect.

Dark and Callista looked back at Shadow when they realized he'd stopped, the scarlet Fox then addressing him;

"Kage? Are you all right? You look like something scared you..."

Shadow once again regained his composure when he was spoken to and replied,

"I'm all right, just... a lot on my mind. I'm okay, really..."

"If you say so..."

Dark replied, the three of them soon stepping into the village; a modest but beautiful place built by the sea with a bay full of dolphins to the side. They walked along the stone-set streets and up to a small but nice house, heading inside.

"Well, here we are, Kage. This is our home."

Callista said, smiling softly. Shadow looked to her and replied,

"It's nice. Thank you for inviting me here. It's much appreciated."

"You're quite welcome, Kage. Now, how about some dinner?"

-

Later that evening, after a dinner of fish, baked potatoes and some sort of fruit salad, Shadow found himself sitting on a rock out by the bay. Callista and Dark were asleep right now, and Shadow needed to collect his thoughts.

As he sat there, looking up at the stars and full moon, he heard soft footsteps in the sand behind him. He glanced back over his shoulder, seeing a young woman who looked about 18 to 20 years old who had long, brunette hair, emerald green eyes and wore light but very durable looking armours of green, brown and black, a crystal hanging at her neck that looked like a small Chaos Emerald.

"Well, it seems someone sits on my rock tonight."

She said softly, Shadow then standing up and replying,

"Sorry, didn't know it was your rock..."

"I don't mind you sitting there, I was simply commenting. Sit on it if you like."

The woman sat down in the sand next to the rock.

"Besides... I would enjoy conversation either way."

Shadow hesitated a moment, but then nodded and sat back down on the stone, overlooking the bay with her. He then spoke,

"So, may I ask your name?"

"Emerald. And you are... ?"

"... Kage."

"Kage. Interesting name... tell me, would I be correct in assuming the fact that you're from the future?"

Shadow was rather surprised, but didn't show it, keeping calm and cool as he asked,

"How did you know?"

"Your life force. It feels exactly like that of Callista's unborn. Being from the future is the only way in this case that you could be in two places at once."

Shadow was silent a moment, a bit surprised at the woman's ability to sense life force and the fact that someone from the future being there didn't phase her.

"... you are right. I am from the future. However, I would like to know how you can sense life forces, and why this doesn't seem to awe or shock you in some way."

Emerald just smiled softly, staring out at the ocean.

"... when you've lived for 2,000 years, nothing surprises you."

Again, Shadow was caught by surprise with her words. Emerald stood up, dusting off her armour a bit before nodding a good night to Shadow and walking off.

-

The next day seemed fairly uneventful. Dark was at his job, which was catching fish from the bay to sell at the market, and Shadow was helping Callista with shopping in the village market. The black Hedgehog had found himself carrying several heavy bags, but he didn't complain, not wanting his pregnant Mother to strain herself as he followed her.

Callista and Shadow soon sat down to rest on a bench by a small fountain, the scarlet Fox sighing as she rested before looking to Shadow.

"So, Kage, where do you come from?"

"... nowhere really. I travel."

He lied. How the spork was he supposed to tell her he was her Son from the future? Callista smiled broadly, her interest seemingly spraked.

"Ooh, a traveler! Tell me about all the places you've been!"

"Well..."

Shadow began, sweatdropping a little for the first time in his life. He was pondering what he should tell her, but she then gently gripped his hand with both her own and asked,

"So you've come from the mainland to our island? Tell me, have you ever been to Mount Miharashi? I've always wanted to go there! Or maybe you've been to Cherry Grove City? I hear that's a lovely and huge city!"

The black Hedgehog decided to just go along, actually a bit thankful that she'd named these places and was about to tell some made-up stories to make her happy...

But was suddenly cut off as alarms began sounding all around the village. Shadow and Callista stood quickly.

"What's going on?"

The Hedgehog asked, the Fox woman replying,

"It's Prism! She's back! We have to get inside now!"

"Prism?"

Shadow asked in confusion.

That's when a large, wolf-like creature seemingly made of Crystal dashed into the square. Shadow was rather amazed by this creature's appearance, but he didn't let that slow him down as he ran in at it to fight.

He stopped short though as the creature was attacked by someone else first; Emerald, who had slashed into it's odd, crystalline flesh with her crystal sword. The woman let out a growl and raised up said sword, readying for another attack.

"This ends now, Prism!"

She yelled, bringing her sword down, but the creature quickly moved to the side in evasion, then tackling Emerald. She was quick to kick her off though, and the two went into an all out brawl.

Shadow now realized that Emerald had a handle on things and gently picked up his Mother.

"Don't worry, Callista. I'll get you to safety."

He said as he began to run along on the air emitted from his shoes. That however was when Prism let out a loud, almost deafening howl, a terrible earthquake knocking him off his feet and onto his rear, but he managed to keep Callista from getting hurt.

"You okay?"

He asked, the scarlet Fox nodding a little in response.

"Yes, yes I'm all right..."

She looked up and around, the earth having come up and surrounded them during the quake. Callista shuddered a bit.

"It tried to trap us to keep us from escaping..."

Shadow murmured, setting Callista on her feet.

"It's after us specifically for some reason."

"Yes, but why Kage?"

Callista asked, Shadow shaking his head dumbfoundedly.

"I don't know."

He lied, all though having a good idea in his head why. He'd sensed Chaos Energy coming from the creature before, and figured that it was after the Chaos Energy he had within his being. Shadow didn't have a Chaos Emerald right now, but as one can guess, when someone wields an Emerald's power, there IS residue of that energy left.

Shadow looked to Callista.

"Remain here. I'm going to make us an exit, then see if the coast is clear to get you out."

He stepped over to the stone walls that had shot up from the ground around them in the quake, quickly beginning to punch and kick at them. They weakened with each attack, and finally, Shadow was able to shatter the stone into millions of small pieces with a final, well aimed punch with all his force behind it.

After the stone was out of the way, he breathed a bit heavily to repay oxygen debt, then stepping out through the new door and looking about. To the side, he could see Prism and Emerald still going at it, but they both looked tired and worn down. Now was his chance.

Shadow quickly dashed in at Prism, ready to strike it down once and for all, but the crystalline creature saw his move and became cowardly, turning tail and running away just as Shadow would have made contact.

He would have gone after it, but he decided it was weak and that he'd find it later. Right now, he felt he was more needed to his Mother. Emerald passed out on the ground nearby from over-exerting herself in the battle, but Shadow didn't mind her, figuring she'd be all right as he walked back to the ring of stones, stepping inside.

"It's all right now Callista, Prism... ran... "

He trailed off in his sentence as upon returning, he found Callista on her knees on the ground, holding her stomach and moaning painfully. He quickly ran to her, the scarlet Fox Woman breathing heavily as she looked up to him with tears of pain in her eyes.

"Kage... go find Dark... the twins are coming..."

-

**End Chapter 2**

**-**

And now a thank you tomy reviewers of last chapter;

**To Ciel the Hedgehog,**

_Yup, that's what I said. Shadow's true origins, and the origin of the Chaos Emeralds to boot. n.n And yeah, I figure it kinda makes sense if Shadow is part Fox. He has a Fox's sixth sense and quick thinking, and haven't you ever noticed his hearing is Fox sharp, and his ears are a little bigger that Sonic or Amy's? Bigger like toward Fox ear size, I think. As well, Shadow's agile and precision like a Fox, so I figure, it kinda makes since if he's part Fox, he just appears all Hedgehog on the outside, but with most of his Fox inside. n.n_

**To Writingcritter,**

_lol, Knuckles is pretty cool, but I think Shadow ties more with Manic for best character. O.o I'm a Manic fan, bite me. XD_

**To playstation14,**

_Heh, hope I didn't shock you to much, and yup, like I said to Ciel up there, seems to make sense to me if Shadow is part Fox, just not visibly. lol. He has a Fox's qualities, so to speak. I'm glad you like the story so far, and yeah, I've had the idea of the Chaos Emeralds' origin in my mind for quite a while, and I also had an idea for Shadow's true origin, and so I slapped them both together, thus combining two original stories to make one even more original story? That's my logic anyway. lol._

**To TwilightPrincess012,**

_Well, you wanted a new chappie and you got it! n.n Hope you enjoy it, and glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much!_

**To sonic master,**

_You wanted more, you got more! Glad you enjoy it, and hope you enjoyed today's chapter!_

-

**Well, that's all from me for today, but the next chapter will be up tomorrow, so stick close!**


	3. Life and Death

**"Before the ARK"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 3_

**"Life and Death"**

-

"Dark!"

Shadow called as he moved as fast as his legs and hover shoes would carry him down to the bay, where Dark was already readying himself to leave. He'd obviously heard of Prism's attack and was on his way back to check on Callista. Shadow stopped in front of him.

"What's wrong Kage? Is... Callista okay?"

Dark asked, Shadow shaking his head a bit as he caught his breath.

"No, she needs you... she's in labour."

"Oh my gosh..."

"She wasn't hurt in the attack or anything though... but I just took her to the clinic. She asked me to come get you."

Dark was quick to nod, and immediately followed Shadow through the village and to the clinic. Considering all that had happened in the attack, other than a giant ring wall of stone, the village was in good shape. No homes were actually damaged or anything, and believe it or not, the fountain was still running.

It was only minutes later that they ran into the clinic, a nurse directing them to the room where Callista was currently labouring. At the moment however, it didn't look much like labour. She was actually laying there humming to herself. Dark went over to her and took her hand, Shadow turning to a doctor who was looking at a few statistics nearby.

"How's she doing doctor?"

He asked, the doctor turning to Shadow and replying,

"She's doing fine at the moment. It's a rather slow labour; could be hours before the actual birth even begins, so we gave her some pain killers and she seems to be feeling rather fine right about now."

Shadow nodded a bit and added a question,

"And the twins?"

"They seem to be doing just fine. Everything checks out okay so far."

"Good, good..."

Shadow looked back at his Mother and Father, a soft smile tugging across his lips. He was actually going to witness his own birth, and see the very beginning of his life.

-

3 hours passed, and nothing had happened yet. The twins were coming closer, but it was a very slow process. Callista was slow dialating, the contractions hadn't picked up... it was going to be a long night.

As Dark decided to go get himself some dinner, Callista had fallen asleep, hoping to gain some rest and energy for giving birth. Shadow silently walked into her room as she slept, watching her a moment before kneeling next to her bed, gently placing his ear against her stomach. He could easily hear two healthy heartbeats.

"This is so amazing..."

He whispered to himself.

"I finally see where I really came from... not a cold, hard laboratory, but from a warm, loving Mother... and I have a twin Brother... this is so hard to believe, yet... here it is."

He smiled softly, closing his eyes and imagining he was in his dream again; warm, comfortable and loved within his Mother's womb, with the constant, soothing sound of her heartbeat to lull him to sleep.

Shadow then felt a hand softly reach up and stroke his quills, breaking him from his daydream and causing him to look up, seeing Callista was wide awake. She smiled softly.

"Callista, I... I'm sorry, I..."

She gently placed a finger on his lips before he could make an excuse, still smiling as she said,

"It's quite all right, Shadow... I understand."

She took her finger away slowly, Shadow looking surprised before saying,

"But, I'm Kage... not..."

"Now now, I heard every word."

Callista interrupted, Shadow feeling a bit stupid now. She was a Fox, of course she could hear a pin drop 20 miles away. She gently reached her hand up, placing it on Shadow's cheek.

"It is you, isn't it Shadow? You've come from the future..."

Defeatedly, Shadow nodded.

"Yes... it's me, Mother."

"I had a feeling from the start. You do look just like your Father after all."

She stroked his cheek in a gentle and affectionate manner that only a Mother can.

"But, how did you come into the past? How could you somehow travel through the very fabric of time and space... ?"

"It's... a little hard to explain..."

He told her, wondering how he'd ever explain the Time Stone to her.

"For now, I'm just... glad I can finally see you and my Father, and find out where I came from..."

"Oh, my dear Son..."

Callista gently pulled him down into a hug.

"Don't worry, you're here now, and I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Shadow smiled softly, hugging her back as he felt a few tears sting his eyes. He'd finally found somewhere where he felt he belonged; with his family.

That's when Callista's hug became... painfully tight to be honest, Shadow cringing a little.

"Mother? What's wrong?"

He asked, Callista speaking through clenched teeth.

"Shadow... it's time..."

-

Shadow paced the waiting room of the clinic impatiently, his ears laying back with the occasional scream from Callista in the next room. He'd never realized how painful childbirth must be for a woman until now. He was going to do some major apologizing to her later for putting her through this.

He continued pacing around, then looking up to a clock on the nearby wall. It had been an hour since Callista had began birthing.

Shadow also took notice to a calendar on the wall, walking over to it and checking the date. He could've kicked himself, coming back in time and not even checking to see when he was.

It looked like the 20th day in the month of Harvest, in the year of the Jade Wolf.

Shadow did a double take. Year of the Jade Wolf? That was 3,000 years before the time he'd left into the past! He'd gone back into the past 3k years!

"3,000 years..."

He murmured to himself in surprised, walking in a dazed manner over to a chair and seating himself.

"3,000 years..."

He repeated, shaking his head in near disbelief. He got his bearing a minute later though and decided to write this down in his journal, reaching into his backpack and pulling it out, along with a pen. He popped open the lock and turned to the latest page, beginning to write. He wrote of all the things that had happened since his arrival here, and with great detail, wanting to remember everything, and wanting to keep a way of remembering even if he lost his memory again.

That's when Shadow realized that there was an odd silence, wondering what was going on. Then, the crying of twins could be heard, Shadow giving a soft smile and looking at the clock before writing in his journal;

"20th day in the month of Harvest, Year of the Jade Wolf, 9:27 PM, my Brother and I were born."

Minutes after finishing the journal entry, Dark came into the waiting room and began,

"Shadow..."

He said, calling him by his real name. Callista had obviously told him everything.

"Come in here and see yourself and older Brother."

Shadow smiled and nodded, following Dark into the delivery room where Callista laid with a pair of newborn twin Hedgehog boys in her arms, one obviously being Shadow, as he had red highlights, and the other having soft blue highlights. Callista smiled and gently handed the one with blue Highlights to Shadow.

"Shadow, this is your older Brother; Snow Atwight Hedgehog."

The black Hedgehog looked like he couldn't be happier as he took his twin Brother into his arms, gently stroking his quills.

"Hey there, Snow..."

He whispered to the little one, whose ears twitched as he snuggled into the white tuft of fur on Shadow's chest.

"A Brother... something I never thought I'd have..."

-

All was silent that night as Shadow and Dark slept in a couple of chairs in the lobby, the doctors continuing to monitor Callista and the twins throughout the night, just to be sure everything was okay.

Sometime around 4 AM however, Shadow awakened feeling the need to go to the bathroom. He got up quickly and headed off to said restroom, but on his way back, he heard soft crying... not his Brother or himself crying, but his Mother.

Shadow felt fear rise up in him, wondering what was going on as he slowly poked his head into his Mother's hospital room. There she sat, sobbing quietly into her hands. Shadow felt he might cry himself seeing his Mother like this.

"Mother?"

He finally whispered, stepping quietly in. Callista sniffled and looked up to him with red eyes and a tear stained face.

"Shadow? Wh-what are you doing up?"

She asked, voice cracking. Shadow sat down on the side of the bed and replied,

"I had to use the restroom and heard you crying... what's wrong? A-are you okay?"

Callista could sense the fear in Shadow's voice, even though he was obviously trying hard not to show it. The red Fox wiped her eyes a little before replying,

"I-it's Snow... he..."

She choked up a bit, Shadow getting her a tissue from the box on the table nearby and drying her eyes, but more tears just wet them again.

"What about Snow? What happened?"

Shadow urged, Callista swallowing hard before replying,

"S-something went wrong... he had a heart failure Shadow..."

The Black Hedgehog's eyes widened in terror.

"No... i-is he all right? Were the doctors able to save him?"

Callista sadly shook her head no, Shadow almost able to feel his black fur turning stark white. His older Brother, who'd seemed so healthy at birth, had died and he couldn't do anything about it.

Callista began to sob loudly now, Shadow finding himself enough in his shock to gently embrace her. He would be crying himself, but it was too much of a shock.

"Snow..."

Shadow whispered to himself after a few moments of silence, tears finally stinging his eyes.

"Brother... how could you just... die?"

Before long, he was sobbing along with his Mother, mourning the loss of his only Brother... his very twin that he'd only been able to spend so little time with.

-

The next few days were agonizing and mournful for the family, but the fellow villagers of Crystal Springs were very kind to them and offered their support in any way that they could. This made Shadow feel some better, knowing that he and his parents seemed to have the entire village as back-up if they needed them, but that didn't ease the pain of losing his twin Brother.

After things had cooled down however and the family didn't have many visitors coming in, Emerald came tapping at the door. Dark was quick to let her in. Shadow was a bit surprised to see her walking in without her armour on, but wearing a simple and modest black dress with long sleeves. Callista offered her a seat.

Emerald sat down in a lady-like manner, unlike the tomboyish way she'd plopped down to sit at the bay that night she and Shadow had met. Shadow was beginning to realize how much respect Emerald held for others.

"Thank you for allowing me into your home, and I am very sorry about your loss. It is so very hard for those who have not experienced it to know the pain of losing a child. You have my deepest sympathies."

"We thank you for that and very much appreciate it, Emerald."

Callista told her, Shadow taking notice to Emerald's watery eyes during her last couple of sentences. Shadow wondered if she could be that deeply hurt by Snow's passing...

...or if perhaps she knew the pain of losing a child.

-

**End Chapter 3**

**-**

_And now, to my loyal reviewers;_

**To Writingcritter,**

_lol, I was wondering if someone would pick up on the KageShadow in Japanese part. Thanks for the review, and glad you're enjoying the story._

**To playstation14,**

_Well, you don't have to worry about me not updating this story. As I said in the Author's Notes in the first chapter, I have all 6 chapters of this story done, and I'm posting one chapter every day until they're all up. And yeah, I wondered if anyone would also pick up on the Pokemon Reference... however, I've never heard of Soleana and Princess Eliese... Oh, well. Extra points if you can figure out where I got the name Crystal Springs. lol._

**To bionicle-girl,**

_Thanks for reviewing, hope you liked this chapter! I know, it's sad this chapter is, but it'll get better! I think... O.o_

**To TwilightPrincess012,**

_And here be another chappie for you, my loyal reviewer. n.n And yes, you have found out now who Shadow's twin is. Thanks for reviewing! n.n_

**To ChaoticShadowofSouls,**

_You should know by now how I love to leave you people dangling with cliffhangers. XD It makes you yearn to read the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

**To Ciel the Hedgehog,**

_You could say Emerald has something to do with the Chaos Emeralds... and you right about Shadow's twin, but in a way different than you thought. I be sneaky. XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

**To sonic master,**

_Now now, sonic master, no need to come after me to make me finish this. n.n; Like I said in the Author's Notes in chapter 1, all 6 chapters of this fanfic are done, and 1 chapter gets uploaded every day until the story is finished, so enjoy chapter 4 tomorrow! n.n_

**To Kid the moshog,**

_Yay, thanks for favouriting this story! Hope you enjoy chapter 4 tomorrow!_

_-_

**Well, that's it for me for now, but the surprises are FAR from over! Shadow's soon to discover new and shocking secrets about Emerald and Prism, and perhaps even his Brother, but... Snow is dead, right? Maybe... come back tomorrow for chapter 4, "Blood Against Blood!" See you tomorrow!**


	4. Blood Against Blood

**"Before the ARK"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 4_

**"Blood Against Blood"**

-

A few uneventful weeks had passed after Emerald's visit. The pain had lessened bit by bit on Shadow and his family, and the little one was thankfully growing up healthy. Seemed things were finally somewhat coming back together.

Certain things concerned Shadow however. Emerald hadn't been seen since her visit several days after Snow's death, and neither had Prism for that matter. He felt something odd was going on, and decided to go look for the girl.

He'd eventually found himself on the point of the island farthest away from Crystal Springs; a dense jungle full of huge, colourful wild flowers and foliage. He pondered if perhaps on his way back, he should grab a few for his Mother to put in her garden.

Just as he thought this however, his sharp ears picked up the faint sounds of a fight in the far distance. Hoping that he'd perhaps found Emerald, he dashed toward the sounds as quickly as his hover shoes would take him.

Shadow soon came to a clearing in the dense jungle, finding just what he expected to; Emerald and Prism, going at it hard and fast. Prism though seemed to be in a different and more powerful form now; no longer the sly and quick form of the crystalline wolf, but the fierce, bloodthirsty form of a crystalline Velociraptor. Was it the same Prism, or another crystal creature with similar attributes in a different form?

Emerald leapt backward and began cutting quick backflips to evade a shower of sharp crystalline shards that Prism had called down with a deafening roar. Shadow decided to enter the fray now and dashed in at Prism from behind, quickly leaping up at her and delivering a hard drop kick to her back.

She screeched in surprise and pain as she fell to the ground, hissing angrily at Shadow before quickly recovering and making a leap at him. Shadow quickly jumped back in evasion and delivered a hard roundhouse kick to Prism's face once she landed before him. She roared at the pain, but used the momentum from being kicked in the face to quickly turn and use her tail as a whip to hit Shadow hard, sending him flying into a nearby palm tree trunk.

Emerald was back in the game now though and quickly slammed the blade of her sword down against the ground, sending a powerful wave of light along the ground at the crystal creature before her. Prism too the hit head on and flew backwards, rolling a few times before stopping as she hit the ground. Emerald quickly dashed in at her now, not about to give her a chance to get up as she raised her sword to attack. Prism had other plans though, surprisingly not that badly hurt after the attack and quickly leaping up at Emerald; over her sword slash and sinking her sharp teeth into her arm. Emerald screamed and made a pain blinded slash at Prism, slicing into her crystalline flesh deeply, but this just made her mad and she threw Emerald to the ground hard by the arm she had in her maw, knocking her out cold.

Shadow was coming around about now, having been knocked out himself after hitting that palm tree trunk like that. He looked up just in time to see Prism leisurely walking towards Emerald unconcious and injured body, moving in for the kill.

"Emerald, no!"

He cried out, Prism being distracted by his shout and turning to him just as he dashed out at her. She snarled and got ready for another fight, but Shadow was determined to win as he dropped down at the last second and made a power slide at her legs, hitting them hard and causing her to fall. She screeched in pain and struggled to get up, but Shadow was already there as he grabbed her tail.

"Let's see how YOU like it!"

He yelled in anger as he started spinning around with a tight grip on Prism's tail, taking her for a dizzying ride before letting her go and watching her fly into the trunk of a large palm tree. She snarled and got up after a moment, seeing Shadow running in at her. She hissed angrily and turned tail, running away into the dense Jungle. Shadow would have followed her, but once he was at the edge of the clearing, he lost sight of her.

"Got away again..."

He murmured in anger with himself, then turning to Emerald's unconcious form.

"Doesn't matter now though... Emerald needs help."

-

That night, after darkness had fallen and a heavy, tropical rain had started with plenty of thunder and lightning, Shadow found himself in a small cavern in the jungle, treating Emerald's wounds with the medi-kit he'd brought along in his backpack.

After treating her wounds, he reached to a bush branch just outside the mouth of the cave where he'd left a piece of cloth hanging so it would get wet in the drenching rain. He took the cloth from the branch and folded it twice, then gently pressing it against Emerald's forehead. She groaned a little, starting to come around as she opened her eyes a crack.

"Ugh... Sh-shadow... ?"

She stuttered a bit, vision blurry at first, but everything soon came into focus. The Black Hedgehog nodded a bit and replied,

"Yeah, it's me. How do you feel?"

"Like I got in a fight with a Raptor and lost..."

She muttered in response, slowly starting to try and sit up, but Shadow placed his hands on her shoulders and made her lay back down.

"Save your strength for getting well again. Not like we're going anywhere anytime soon with this storm going on."

He told her, Emerald nodding slowly and relaxing her head against the pillow of the sleeping bag and closing her eyes. Shadow gently stroked her forehead with the cool, damp cloth.

"Just try and rest for now... but if you feel like talking, I'd like you to explain that creature to me."

Emerald was hesitant before heaving a tired sigh.

"Are you positive you wish to know, Shadow?"

She asked, the Black Hedgehog simply nodding in response. Emerald cracked her eyes open again and spoke,

"All right then... Prism is a creature of unknown origin, but I do know it feeds of the life force energy of it's victims."

"Life Force Energy?"

"Yes. The energy that allows our bodies to function; helps us to live and grow. When Prism attacks a victim and drains their energy, their bodies become a crystallized statue; a mark of Prism's 'handy work'. As Prism drains more victims, she becomes stronger, and is able to take more powerful forms for herself."

"And that's how she went from Wolf to Raptor."

"Yes. Believe it or not, she started out as a simple cat that fed on mice for their life energy. At that time however, I'd not settled in Crystal Springs, and had no idea of the threat..."

"I see... so then Prism has to be stopped before she becomes too strong for us to defeat."

Emerald nodded quietly, Shadow heaving an exasperated sigh. He then turned to the side and picked up Emerald's Crystal Sword, laying it aside her.

"I went back and retrieved your Sword for you."

"Thank you..."

She reached over and took the hilt of the sword, the gemstone surface glowing a bit before the weapon turned into pure white light and retreated back to Emerald's hand, taking the form of what looked like a Chaos Emerald, but made of Crystal; the same one she'd been wearing around her neck that night Shadow had first met her at the bay. The Hedgehog eyed the piece curiously as Emerald strung it over her neck.

"Is that a... Chaos Emerald?"

He asked bluntly, Emerald looking a bit confused at his query. She quirked an eyebrow and replied,

"You're half right. This is the Chaos Crystal; a gem of immense power. It was actually a living being once... what kind of living being, I'm not sure, but from what I understand, she was a powerful being who had learned to control and empower light with her mind. However, with great power comes great responsibility... and great danger. Many evils challeneged her, and finally, she had to use her power so strongly to destroy all the evil around her, that her physical body died, but she wanted her powers to live on and be used for good, so she confined her spirit within the Chaos Crystal, so that it's Master could afterward use it for good."

Shadow's eyes widened a bit as he listened to this story, mind racing as he asked,

"So then, the Chaos Crystal is actually alive... ?"

Emerald nodded, the Hedgehog just sitting there in silent thought as he mentally spoke with himself,

'So if the Chaos Crystal is actually alive... does this mean the Chaos Emeralds are the same? Living beings of high power who confined themselves in gemstone prisons so their powers could continue to be used for good?'

He looked back to Emerald, having more questions for her, but he stopped before he started when he saw she'd dozed back off. He sighed and pulled her covers up a bit as he whispered,

"That's right, rest up. You need it after losing so much blood..."

Shadow then glanced out the mouth of the cavern, watching thoughtfully as the rain continued to pour down and lightning flashed across the night sky.

-

The next morning, Shadow found himself in some trees not far from the cavern, gathering some fruit for himself and Emerald to have for their breakfast. As he sat in the treetops however, an oddly cold breeze blew past him, making him shiver.

"Odd... how can such a cold breeze come through in such a hot jungle... ?"

He murmured to himself, then shrugging and jumping down out of the tree, putting the fruit in his backpack before turning to a patch of ground nearby where a leafy little patch of foliage was growing. He smirked and started digging at the roots of the plant, and soon digging up what looked like an oversized potato, but more yellowish. He washed the dirt off in the river a few steps away and put it in his backpack, about to head back to the cave.

That's when he heard something behind him; a footstep. He quickly whirled around, finding himself faced with a Hedgehog that looked EXACTLY like himself, but with soft blue highlights instead of red ones, sapphire blue eyes instead of ruby red, and he wore silver rings on his wrists and ankles instead of gold. The Hedgehog smirked, leaning with one hand against a tree casually, other hand on his hip as he spoke,

"Well, hello there. I understand you gave my friend Prism a hard time yesterday."

Shadow took a step back, readying himself to fight as he glared at this unidentified Hedgehog and said,

"Who are you? And are you really with that evil creature Prism?"

The blue Highlighted Hedgehog smirked smugly again and replied,

"Why Brother, it hurts that you don't recognize me."

Suddenly, the tree that the Hedgehog was leaning against turned into pure ice, Shadow's eyes widening in surprise as he whispered,

"Snow... ?"

"That's right, Baby Brother. Now then, it's my understanding that your friend Emerald isn't in the best shape right now. Would you mind showing me where she is so I can help her... by putting her out of her misery?"

Shadow growled, the only thing holding him back from pouncing Snow being the fact that he was his Twin Brother.

"Sorry Snow. You may be my Brother, but I'm not going to let you hurt innocent people; especially not Emerald who risks her life to defend and protect the innocent."

Snow yawned as if bored, then turning and leaning his back against the ice tree and looking at his Twin from the corner of his eye.

"Pity, Prism wants her dead anyway."

"Brother, at least tell me why you're doing this... why you're helping that genocidical monster!"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm doing it for revenge."

"Revenge for what?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know. It was Mother's fault I died."

"Snow, that's not true..."

"Yes it is. Mother and Father only really wanted one child, and they loved YOU more! When I was laying there dying from heart failure, did anyone save me? No!"

"Snow, there wasn't anything anyone could do! Mother had just given birth, how could you expect her to do much? And the doctors tried to do everything they could to save you!"

"Shut up, liar!"

Like lightning, Snow backhanded Shadow hard, the red highlighted Hedgehog falling quickly to the ground and grunting, then slowly sitting up as his Brother continued,

"If Prism could bring me back to life, give me Ice powers AND make me equal to you in age, then surely my death could have been stopped before it started!"

Shadow sat there in silence a moment before replying,

"Normal people don't have powers like Prism. Boy, has she really got you duped, thinking we just LET you die when everyone did everything they could to save you. To boot, after you died, Mother didn't hardly do anything but cry for days. She loved you just as much as she did me, Snow. Prism's just got you too blind to realize it."

Snow was thoroughly angry with his twin now, hands glowing with icy blue energy.

"I said shut up!"

He yelled, firing the energy at Shadow's feet before he could react, freezing them in an ice block and immobilizing him. Shadow growled and punched at the ice hard, but it was no good. There was too much of it to break apart all at once. Snow walked to Shadow slowly now, hands still glowing with the ice cold energy. He glared Shadow right in the eyes and said,

"Now, where is Emerald?"

-

**End Chapter 4**

**-**

_And now, to all my loyal reviewers;_

**To playstation14,**

_Now I must save my money and get a PS3 so I can play that game... AND save money so I can get a pet Hedgehog too. o.o; Glad you think the story is getting better. n.n More surprises to come!_

**To bionicle-girl,**

_Yeah, poor Snow... at least he's alive now. o.o; lol. Well, you wanted an update and you got it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

**To TwilightPrincess012,**

_Yeah, losing a twin like that must be hard. Have you really been having dreams 'cause of this? O.o Well, glad you're so into the story, so here's a new chapter for you, and another new chapter will be up tomorrow!_

**To Writingcritter,**

_Well, I've kept going like you wanted. n.n And glad it's staying original. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

**To ChaoticShadowofSouls,**

_Thought it would be who? Tell me now. lol. Well, I updated, did you read? lol._

**To Ciel the Hedgehog,**

_Well, now your questions there are answered. lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. n.n_

-

**Well, that's all from me for today. Again, new chapter will be up tomorrow, so hang tight for chapter 5; "Convergence". Will Snow_really_ do his own Brother and his family in? Wait and see!**


	5. Convergence

**"Before the ARK"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 5_

**"Convergence"**

-

"Now, where is Emerald?"

Snow seethed at his now bipedally incapacitated twin, icy blue energy encompassing his hands. Shadow remained silent.

"... not talking, huh? Doesn't matter. She can't be far with that injury."

He smirked softly, stepping back from Shadow as the energy around his hands dimmed down.

"We'll find her on our own soon enough. Until then, you're obviously not going anywhere."

Shadow could only growl in discontent at his twin, who now laughed a bit as he started to walk away; he didn't get far. Just before he would've left the clearing, he was tackled down hard and fast by an un-armoured Emerald.

"Emerald!"

Shadow called out, trying to struggle free of the ice that encased his feet so he could help her, but no go. He was stuck tight.

Emerald pinned snow down to the ground, drawing back her fist to punch him in the face, but Snow was quicker and delivered a hard punch to her stomach. She grunted, losing her compsure just long enough for Snow to kick her off of himself. She hit the ground hard, but was quick to get back up, watching the blue highlighted Hedgehog rush in at her.

Emerald quickly leapt up and over Snow, cutting a flip and landing a kick to the back of his head with both feet, making him fall forward and face first into a puddle of mud. Needless to say, Snow was steamed as rice about now.

"Foolish woman... rushing into battle without any armour or even a weapon and only angering your enemy..."

He seethed, Shadow now noticing she indeed didn't have her sword out at the moment now that Snow had mentioned it. The Chaos Crystal was still hanging at her neck.

"She must still be too weak from losing so much blood to use it's power or call her sword..."

He mumbled, still trying futilely to break free of the ice. He wished he'd had a Chaos Emerald right now, so he could just Chaos Spear the ice block and break it.

"That's probably why she forewent her armour as well... too weak to move well enough with it's weight."

Shadow watched helplessly as Snow rushed in at Emerald again, the girl this time dropping and sweeping her legs around, sweeping his legs out from under him. He grunted as he hit the ground, Emerald quickly jumping on him again.

"You don't give up easy, do you girl?"

He snarled, going to punch her in the stomach again as he'd done the first time she'd pinned him; she was ready this time though, grabbing his hand just before his punch made contact and twisting his wrist. Snow yelled in sudden pain as a few bones popped and cracked.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm handicapped right now."

She sneered in his face, the Hedgehog beneath her angering further and kicking her off. Emerald managed to land on her feet, but Snow was up quickly, using his good hand to punch her hard in the chest before she could react. She let out a surprised scream as she flew back from the force, finally stopping when she landed hard into the ice block that incapacitated Shadow's legs, the force shattering it and freeing Shadow. Snow smirked.

"Well well, I didn't even have to use my powers to defeat her..."

He gloated as he gazed down on Emerald's now unconcious form, her breathing heavy and ragged. She had obviously been badly injured in the fall. Shadow snarled angrily and rushed in at Snow now that he was free, aiming to get him with a drop kick as he leapt up, but Snow simply cut a couple of backflips and evaded, landing gracefully on his feet before speaking,

"I've no use for fighting you now, Brother. My target isn't far from death now."

Snow smirked smugly and snapped his fingers, quickly vanishing in what appeared to be a small sprinkle of snowflakes, just narrowly avoiding a punch from Shadow. The red highlighted Hedgehog yelled in rage, unable to believe that his own brother was doing this.

He regained his composure after a few moments though and turned to Emerald unconcious and badly hurt form, walking to her and picking her up.

"Don't worry Emerald, I'm gonna get you some help..."

-

Emerald winced slightly as she awoke who knows how long later, slowly opening her jade green eyes and glancing around. Her vision was blurry at first, but soon cleared and revealed to her that she was in a bedroom; lain up on a soft bed and wearing a soft, light green night gown, she found herself with banadges binding her bitten arm, her chest where Snow had punched her and broken some of her ribs, and her head where she'd hit the ice block earlier.

She groaned and slowly sat up, noticing her armour and clothes laying neatly on a table across the room just before Shadow walked in, carrying a tray of medicines. He managed a soft smile to her.

"I see you're awake. How're you feeling?"

He asked, setting the tray down on the nightstand as she replied,

"Better, thank you... how long have I been here?"

She asked, realizing now that she had her mind together that she must be in Callista and Dark's home. Shadow opened a couple of bottle from the tray and took one pill out of each, handing them to Emerald as well as a glass of juice to take them with as he said,

"About two days, but you were at the clinic for three.We were afraid for a while there we were gonna lose you, but you obviously heal pretty quickly. The doctor figured you'd heal better if you were in a more comofrtable and home-like environment as soon as you were well enough to not need constant observation at the clinic."

Emerald nodded and took down the medicines. She never had liked medicine, but she was in no condition to argue with Shadow over it right now and simply complied before saying,

"Thank you for saving me, Shadow... what happened to that other Hedgehog who looked like you?"

"He ran away when he thought you had no hope of living. You were his target... he's working with Prism."

"That's definitely not good... Shadow, do you have any idea who he is?"

Shadow was hesitant in his answer, biting his lower lip a little.

"... Shadow?"

Emerald prompted, the black Hedgehog finally sighing and replying,

"...Snow."

"What... ?"

Emerald looked shocked as Shadow continued,

"My Brother... Prism brought him back from the dead somehow and gave him ice powers of some kind... turned him against us. She has him thinking we let him die before because Mom and Dad liked me better and didn't want him."

There was a long, silent moment of shock and disbelief for Emerald before she softly laid back on her pillows and muttered,

"That's it, Prism has to be stopped... and we have to find a way to snap Snow out of this as well..."

"Easier said than done, Emerald. She's got him brain washed, rinsed and dried."

"We'll have to think of something. We can't leave your Brother like that; not when he's brain washed into turning against a family that loves him and cares about him."

"Yes..."

Shadow nodded in agreement, sighing sadly as he pondered how they were going to defeat Prism now, and how they were going to get Snow back to his senses.

-

"Emerald is still alive?"

A female voice mentally hissed to Snow as he found himself standing before Prism; who was still in Velociraptor form; deep in the depths of a hidden cavern somewhere on the island. This cavern had served as Prism's 'base' for as long as she could remember, and Snow was the only other one who knew of it.

The black Hedgehog nodded in response to the crystal creatures query and added,

"Yes. Seems as long as the Chaos Crystal is in tact and connected with her life force, she is indeed immortal. She should have died on contact when she hit her head on my ice block. The force sould have punctured her skull AND ruptured parts of her brain."

"Why did you leave her there if she was still alive, fool? Now she will recover and come back after us!"

Prism barked in angered telepathy, Snow seemingly not unnerved however as he replied,

"I knew after she survived that hit that she was immortal, however I figured since she was immortal, I couldn't kill her anyway. I would have captured her and brought her here, but I don't believe, in honesty, that I was strong enough to get past my Brother in his rage. We should strike while their hero is weak though. Even with her, those injuries will take a good, long while to heal. She's in no condition to fight."

"Hmm, you bring up an interesting point. I will drain more victims since she is weak now and gain power, and then we shall make our attack once I have reached my most powerful form. It shouldn't be hard, since Emerald isn't going to be able to catch and stop me from draining victims."

"Excellent. It seems our time of rule is drawing near... or yours anyway."

Prism looked a bit surprised.

"You do not wish to rule at my side?"

"While I appreciate such an offer, rulership just is not becoming of me. All I wish for when this is over, if it pleases you, is that my Brother be spared."

"Your Brother... ?"

"Yes. I realize now nothing of what happened to me is his fault. My Mother and Father, as well as an unjust society have him brainwashed, and I only wish to bring him out of it and enjoy the one member of my family that I think I can bring to trust and love in time."

"So, you wish to give up all that you could have for your Brother?"

"Yes. It's not his fault he's the way he is, and so he doesn't deserve the fate that the rest do."

"... I understand. He will be spared as you have requested, but keep in mind your place at my side is always open; Always."

"Thank you, my Mistress."

"Very well. You are dismissed."

Snow bowed humbly and stepped out of the chamber, walking quietly down the cavern corridors until he came upon another, smaller chamber; a chamber covered completely in ice.

He walked to a corner of the room and sat down quietly on a block of ice he'd made for a chair, sighing softly as he lifted his hand and made some snowflakes appear, swirling them around in the air absentmindedly.

"Brother..."

He murmured, Shadow's words still running through his mind.

"What if he was right? What if it is a misunderstanding and... no, no... Prism would not lie to me, and I should be thankful she's going to grant my request. I just wonder how I'm going to get Shadow to see the truth..."

He leaned back, letting the snow fall to the floor now.

"That blasted Emerald didn't help the situation much either... she only has him further convinced that Prism is the evil one... well, I'll show them. My Brother will see the truth, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me..."

-

**End Chapter 5**

**-**

_And now, to all my loyal reviewers;_

**To New lord of darkness,**

_Thanks for reviewing, and glad you find this interesting. n.n Hope this chapter did the same justice for you._

**To TwilightPrincess012,**

_Wow, sounds like a cool dream. Heh, well here's a new chappie for you, and I hope you enjoy it!_

**To playstation14,**

_Heh, I try to keep the twists and turns coming. Hope you found this chapter to be good and... twisty. lol. n.n_

**To Writingcritter,**

_Heh, you're really getting hyped up, huh? Glad the story's been god for you, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy it!_

**To ChaoticShadowofSouls,**

_Shiroi, huh? lol, you read my comic, didn't you? You oughtta know I'm not one to pull the same trick twice. n.- And I wouldn't call Snow EVIL per se... horribly misguided however, definite yes. lol._

**To Kid the moshhog,**

_Heh, yesh, cool indeed. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. n.n_

**To Ciel the Hedgehog,**

_Like I told ChaoticShadowofSouls, not evil, just ferociously mislead. O.o XD But glad you like Snow as a character. Originally, he was gonna have yellow highlights instead of Blue and I was gonna call him Sunset, but I decided to give him blue highlights and call him Snow instead._

-

**Well, that's it for this chapter. I realize it lacked content a bit, but I was setting up for the 6th and final chapter, "Crystal Dawn". When Prism launches her final attack on Crystal Springs, will Emerald be powerful enough to defeat her, and will Shadow be able to save his parents in time before total destruction is reached? Be back tomorrow when chapter 6 is up and find out!**


	6. Crystal Dawn

**"Before the ARK"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 6_

**"Crystal Dawn"**

-

"Emerald, lay back down. You're not well enough to be up yet."

Callista told the brunette before her, said girl standing up from the bed a bit shakily as she replied,

"Sorry Miss Callista, but I've lain too long and it's been too quiet. Prism and her new cohort are up to something, and I need to stop it before they get started."

"Shadow is out searching for them now and will alert us if he finds anything, now please rest. You'll fight better once you heal."

Emerald sighed defeatedly and nodded, sitting back down on the bed and laying back on the pillows.

"I'll have you some lunch ready in a bit."

Callista told her as she left the room quietly. She didn't want to show it, but she was very concerned herself over the situation with Prism and Snow.

She ran a worried hand through the scarlet fur on her head and walked to the baby's room, finding an equally concerned Dark; sitting there in a rocking chair with a sleeping baby Shadow in his arms as he slowly rocked back and forth. Callista couldn't help but smile at the sight of Father and Son, walking over and sitting beside her husband.

"Are you all right?"

Dark asked as his wife sat down, taking notice of the worried look on her face. She simply nodded, leaning over to look at the little one in Dark's arms.

"... he's a little clone of you, you know that?"

She said, chuckling a bit as she tried to cheer her husband up, as well as herself. Dark smiled and nodded, stroking little Shadow's quills fondly as he replied,

"Yes, but he definitely has your ears... not to mention some of your fur colour in his highlights."

Callista nodded, Dark gently handing their Son to her. She held him softly close to her, watching him as he slept peacefully.

"... Dark, what do you think is going to happen?"

She asked, the Hedgehog in question placing a hand on her shoulder as he said,

"I don't know, Callista... I honestly don't. I can assure you this though; I'll do everything I can to protect you and Shadow, okay? I promise you that."

He kissed her softly on the cheek, the scarlet Fox unable to hold back a smile.

"Thank you, Dark... I just hope everything turns out right..."

-

"Where could they be hiding? I know they're up to something... they've been too quiet for anything else."

Shadow muttered to himself as he once again found himself searching the jungle outside of Crystal Springs for Prism and Snow. With their recent and prolonged absence, he felt they were up to something, and something big at that.

Then, as he moved silently through the tropical foliage, he heard something deeper in the jungle. Needless to say, he wasn't hesitant to move toward the sound, wondering if it could be Prism or Snow. As he moved closer, he could hear someone speaking... one voice was Snow's, but the other voice sounded like it was within his mind... a telepathic communication perhaps?

He soon came to a clearing, where he saw Snow speaking with what appeared to be a huge Dragon made of Crystal. Shadow's jaw dropped. Could that Crystal Dragon be Prism? It had to be, but how had she become so powerful? He sat there quietly in his concealment behind some palm bushes, listening to their conversation.

"The time to attack is now, isn't it Mistress?"

Snow asked as he gazed upon Prism's new and much more powerful form. The dragon nodded and replied telepathically,

"Yes. For two weeks now I have ravaged the Island, snapping up the energy of any and every life form that's crossed my path... I've surpassed many of my powerful forms; Wolf, Hawk, Velociraptor, Liger... and finally I am at my most powerful form, and ready to wipe out the Chaos Crystal and it's Master so we can rule this planet."

"Excellent, but you've never touched Crystal Springs these past two weeks... how did you find enough life forms to take energy from to attain this form?"

"That's part of the irony of it, Snow. Do you remember the bite injury I gave Emerald while I was in Velociraptor form?"

"Yes...?"

"There was residue of my energy in that bite, and when you later told me Emerald was still alive after your attack, I decided to use it to my advantage. I've been draining her energy with my own energy residue as a conveyor without her realizing it."

"But then you could drain her completely and be done with her!"

"No no, I want to be there to kill her while she is weak; while she is beneath me! There is no honour in killing from afar. Aside from that, in draining bits of Emerald's life force energy at a time, which is entwined with the energy of the Chaos Crystal, I have built up a physical resistance to it's power. Even if I was back in my first form as a Cat, she wouldn't have the strength or power to defeat me now."

"Excellent. When will we begin our attack, Mistress?"

"Right now, before Murphy's Law intervenes."

"As you wish, but shall I retrieve my Brother before the attack begins to ensure his safety?"

"Yes, you move ahead. I'll follow shortly."

Needless to say, Shadow was pretty stunned at the moment, but he regained his composure and began heading quietly back to Crystal Springs.

"I have to hurry and warn everyone; Especially Emerald and my Parents..."

However, Snow's sharp Fox hearing that he'd more than likely gotten from his Mother picked up Shadow's exit, and he immediately took chase. He tackled his Brother down before he knew what hit him.

"Brother, so nice of you to join us. Prism! He's here! Go on ahead and I'll hold him!"

Without hesitance, Prism flew quickly overhead and toward the village of Crystal Springs. Shadow struggled against Snow, but with Snow sitting on his back and holding his wrists against the ground, throwing him off was near impossible, even for Shadow.

"Snow, stop this! Those people haven't done anything wrong to you!"

"Silence Brother... I can't let you be brainwashed by such an unjust society!"

"Brainwashed! Snow, you're the one who's been brainwashed by Prism!"

"That's a fine way to thank the one who granted my request that you'd be spared from the fate of the people in the village, Brother!"

"Why, just so I could be dealt a worse fate?"

Snow looked a bit shocked at Shadow's words suddenly, looking down at him in surprise.

"A worse fate... ? What do you mean?"

"Snow, do you have any idea why I came back in time? Did Prism bother to tell you?"

The blue highlighted Hedgehog thought a second, then shook his head slowly. His younger Twin sighed and told him,

"I came back 3,000 years into the past to find my family... to find out where I came from... I didn't wanna be alone anymore. And now that I have a family... a Mother, a Father and even a Twin Brother... you, my own flesh and blood... my very twin is taking the family I wanted so badly away from me!"

By now, Snow's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief, Shadow now crying softly as he sat beneath him, managing to speak in a cracking voice,

"I've been alone for so long... and only wanted a family... somewhere to go at night with someone to go to... a shoulder to cry on... someone to laugh and share things with... now that I've finally found that, it's all gonna be gone because of you..."

For a moment, Snow was in total silence, his Brother's words echoing in his mind...

Then, as Shadow layed there under his Twin's weight, crying into the ground, he felt Snow move off of him. He blinked in surprise and looked up, seeing Snow stand before him with a hand outreached to help him up.

"... Snow?"

"Come on Shadow, we have to save Mom and Dad!"

-

It was at that moment that Prism arrived in Crystal Springs, flying gracefully above the village until she reached the center of it, which was marked by a large fountain. The crystal Dragon let out a loud laugh as the villagers below became terrified and ran.

She landed down right on the fountain, crushing it beneath her weight, and let out a loud roar. With her cry, new creatures began to form up from the ground... Creatures made of various gemstones, all of them representing one of Prism's previous forms; Wolves, Hawks, Raptors, Ligers... all of them even more fierce than Prism herself was in those forms. The dragon let out another laugh and said,

"Now my minions, go and destroy this village and all who inhabit it!"

All the creatures howled and roared as they ran into the village to do their Mistress' evil bidding.

Not far from the village's center, Callista and Dark heard all the roaring, howling, screaming and destruction and ran to the window to see what was going on. They were astonished to see Prism there in her most powerful form, as well as all the evil creatures she'd created. Before Callista and Dark could even say a word, emerald had rushed past decked out in full armour, Chaos Crystal in hand as she headed out the door and into battle.

Callista looked terrified, watching as Dark walked to a nearby wall where a Double-Edged Long Sword hung in it's sheathe, the black Hedgehog taking it from the wall and hanging it on his belt. He turned to his waife and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"Callista, head to the underground safe shelter with the others, and look after little Shadow, understand? I have to go out and help Emerald and the men fight this thing."

He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, having a feeling it may be his last time with her. Callista felt tears sting her eyes as she kissed him back, the two then pulling away from each other as she said,

"Dark, please come back to me safely..."

"I can't make any promises love, but I'll try my best..."

With that, he quickly dashed out the door, pulling his sword from it's sheathe as he went into battle. Callista didn't hesitate to go to the Baby's room, quickly picking Shadow up from his crib and holding him close.

"Come on sweety, we have to get to safety..."

The little one just looked up at his Mother sweetly, Callista unable to hold back a smile before running quickly to the door in the kitchen that led down to the cellar. Once down there, she quickly pushed a couple of empty barrels aside to reveal a secret door in the floor. She quickly opened it to reveal a long flight of stairs, not hesitant to follow them and close the secret door behind herself.

-

"Oh, no..."

Shadow murmured as he and Snow now arrived in the village, finding nothing but war and destruction as far as the eye could see, Prism simply overlooking her work with pride.

"No... Mother! Father!"

He yelled, running into the fray with Snow close behind. The two immediately went into raged battle with the cratures Prism had created, greatly helping the men of the village with their efforts. It wasn't long into this that they came across Dark, Shadow going to him quickly... but Snow however felt ashamed of himself and was reluctant to go to his Father, and so hung back, out of sight as he continued fighting.

"Dad!"

Shadow called as he ran to Dark, helping him fight off the Sapphire Wolf that had pounced him. Shadow delivered a hard punch to the wolf's chest, watching as it then crumpled to the ground and wheezed hard.

"Shadow... thanks, I owe you Son."

Dark said, his Son nodding a bit before asking,

"Dad, where's Mom? Is she okay?"

"She's all right. She took your younger self and headed to the underground shelter."

"And Emerald?"

"She went to face Prism herself."

"I'd better go help her. Think you can handle things here?"

"Of course. Prism's lackeys here aren't near enough to take your old man down."

Shadow couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Thanks Dad. Okay, let's go, Snow!"

Snow nodded and quickly followed his Twin as he dashed off toward Prism, Dark looking quite surprised for a moment to see Snow had changed sides like this... not to say he wasn't grateful though.

It didn't take long for the two to reach the epicenter of Crystal Springs, where Prism was staring down a beaten and bloody Emerald with a smirk.

"Now what will you do, Chaos Crystal Master?"

The dragon seethed.

"Your powers have failed you, and I have arisen as Victor. Bow to me, and I may spare you and make you a minion."

Emerald grunted in pain and slowly managed to stand up.

"Never..."

She said, Prism becoming angry.

"What did you say, Mortal?"

"Never... I'll never bow down to someone like you!"

With Emerald's yell, the Chaos Crystal began to glow brightly in her hand, causing Prism to move back in surprise. Shadow and Snow did the same, having to shield their eyes as the light became blindingly bright.

"Snow, what's going on?"

Shadow asked, his Brother shaking his head.

"I'm just as stumped as you, Bro!"

Snow replied, the two of them stepping back a bit just before the light faded. They opened their eyes to try and see what as going on.

Before them, staring up at Prism stood a woman with long, white hair with a blue highlight down the middle, her eyes a crystalline blue while her body was clothed by a white shirt with translucent blue cloth for the sleeves and midsection, white pants that ended in a V-shape just below the knee with translucent blue cloth flowing from it, and tall, light blue boots with a huge white feather on the outside ankle of either one. Crystal bracelets appeared to accent her wrists, and a beautiful, snow white pair of Angelic wings moved themselves out from her back. Shadow and Snow stood there in awe before the elder twin managed to speak,

"Is that... Emerald?"

"Just like with the Chaos Emeralds..."

Shadow murmured, Snow looking to him confusedly as he continued,

"Just like I can go super with the Chaos Emeralds, Emerald can attain a Super Form with the Chaos Crystal..."

"A Super Form... makes sense..."

Snow agreed, the two of them watching as Super Emerald flew up quickly and began to do battle with Prism.

"Should we try to help her, or do you think we'd just get killed in that fray?"

The elder twin asked, Shadow about to reply, but he then heard a sudden scream... he didn't hear it with his ears though, he heard it with his mind. His eyes went wide as he recognized the scream, Snow looking concerned at Shadow's sudden expression as he asked,

"Shadow? What's wrong?"

"Mother..."

Shadow muttered.

"Mother's in trouble! We have to go help her!"

Shadow dashed off, Snow quickly following him as he asked,

"H-how do you know, Shadow?"

"I can sense it! She's in danger and we have to help her!"

The younger twin called back, Snow nodding as they headed for Callista and Dark's home, where Shadow knew the secret entrance to the underground safe shelter was. There was a secret door to it in everyone's home, as Dark had taught Shadow, but his home was the only one where he knew where it was.

Once inside, Shadow rode the air emitted by his shoes down the stairs to the cellare, finding that the secret door had been broken open by force. He felt fear trying to take over, but he didn't let it stop him, he and Snow immediately descending the stairs inside, the stairs leading down to a long, stone hallway that led to the safe shelter. They heard a scream up ahead.

"Mother!"

Shadow yelled in fear, he and his twin moving down the halls at breakneck speed. To keep up with Shadow, Snow used his ice powers to create a long strip of ice ahead of himself and he slid along on the frozen water with immense speed.

Seconds later, they came up on the beaten and bloody form of Callista laying on the floor, curled up around her little one in a protective manner as a Ruby Velociraptor and an Amethyst Liger started to move in on her for the kill... that was, until Shadow and Snow charged at them, the four of them going into an all out brawl.

The brawl didn't last very long however, Shadow and Snow in such a rage over the creatures making an attempt on their Mother's life that Shadow had quickly snapped the Raptor's neck with a direct drop kick, while Snow had managed to aim some ice power at the fast moving Liger just right to freeze it in a huge block of ice. The two then immediately went to their Mother, kneeling down to pick her up.

"Don't worry Mom, we're gonna get you to a doctor..."

Snow said, but Callista weakly raised her hand, motioning for them to stop.

"Don't..."

She told them.

"I'm not going to make it... so don't try to drag my dead weight around..."

"But... Mother..."

Shadow sniffled, Snow feeling tears sting his eyes, but Callista motioned for them to shush.

"Now now dears, don't worry... I'm going to a better place... all I ask is that you look after little Shadow here... since I obviously won't be able to..."

They both nodded, tears running down their face as Snow gently reached forward and took the unharmed baby Shadow from Callista's arms and said,

"Mother, I'm so sorry... what I did was wrong... this wouldn't be happening if I hadn't..."

"Sssshhhh... "

Callista weakly reached up and placed a hand on Snow's cheek.

"It's not your fault... Prism would have still done this eventually even if you hadn't helped her... and it's not your fault she took advantage of your weak moment like that..."

"Mother..."

Snow whispered as he gently placed his hand on her's, both his and Shadow's tears running profusely now as Callista just smiled and looked up on them both.

"... you two, promise me you'll look after each other... like good Brothers..."

She whispered, voice weaker with each word. The twins slowly nodded, their Mother's smile broadening a bit more as she said,

"Thank you... tell Dark I love him, all right? And I love you two as well... more than anything... and I'll always watch over you... always..."

Shadow and Snow watched helplessly as Callista's eyes slowly slid closed, her breathing slowing to a stop. The younger twin swallowed hard and said,

"Mother? ... Mother?"

He felt Snow place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, both of them knowing their Mother was gone now, but it was so very hard to accept.

"Come on Shadow..."

Snow said.

"Let's take your younger version to safety, then we should rejoin the battle. That's what Mom would want..."

Shadow sniffled and nodded, slowly getting up and heading to the shelter with his Brother.

Once they were in the shelter at the other end of the hall however, the found it wasn't safe any longer... the doors were all broken into, and everything was in shambles. There was no blood, so it looked like anyone who'd been there had fortunately managed to escape... but that was assuming anyone had even made it in there.

Realizing the place was unsafe, Shadow and Snow quickly headed to the surface to try and find some safety for the little one in a group of villagers. Once on the surface though, they came to find that the men had defeated all of Prism's creatures, and now the fight was solely between Prism and Super Emerald, and Super Emerald seemed to be losing fast now after Prism had gotten in a couple of dirty hits.

"Oh no, this is bad... what do we do?"

Shadow wondered aloud, Snow shaking his head as he replied,

"Nothing we can do... you and I are powerless against Prism while she's in this form. Emerald there is our only hope..."

Shadow nodded in reluctant agreement, he and his Twin watching the fight helplessly.

Emerald was indeed losing fast, being literally beaten to death by slashes of Prism's sharp dragon claws and powerful tail whips. Prism laughed in delight, thinking she had this won... but Emerald had other ideas.

Emerald managed to fly back away from Prism a bit, narrowing her eyes as she said,

"Obviously you really have built up too much of a resistance to my powers for me to win like this... so then I'll just have to create a whole new power."

Emerald held her hands out, the Chaos Crystal forming between them with a bright flash that blinded Prism to hold her off for a moment, Emerald closing her eyes as the Chaos Crystal floated before her and she said,

"People of this village, I need your help... please lend me your energy... the white light energy of all your hopes, dreams and love that Prism may be vanquished and you can all live in peace and harmony again without the constant fear of being attacked by this monstrosity!"

With that, a white light began to arise from all the people, including Shadow and Snow, who looked rather confused.

"What's she gonna do?"

Snow wondered aloud, Shadow looking just as confused as him though as he replied,

"I dunno Snow, But whatever it is, you can bet it's something big..."

At this point, Prism was looking both astonished and frightened, having not expected Emerald to pull something like this off. The dragon attempted a lunge on Emerald to stop her, but the white light protected her, stopping Prism's attack and knocking her back.

"You can't win now Prism... I won't let you!"

Emerald cried, pulling all thw white light of everyone's hopes and dreams together within the Chaos Crystal and projecting it forward, the white light breaking into seven different coloured rays as it worked it's way through the crystal, the seven colours of light then forming into seven gemstones. Shadow's eyes widened as he realized what was going on now.

"The Chaos Emeralds!"

He cried in surprise.

"So this is where they came from... the Chaos Emeralds were created by everyone's hopes and dreams projected through the Chaos Crystal!"

Prism was terrified at this point, even becoming so scared she turned tail and began to fly away in fear, but Emerald wasn't about to let her get away. The Chaos Crystal and the Chaos Emeralds began to glow brightly, and a second later fired respectively coloured rays of light directly into Prism's very being. The crystal creature roared and screeched in pain, until finally, her body simply cipped and broke apart into tiny flakes of crystal, creating a shining, crystalline snow over the village of Crystal Springs until Prism had fully discentegrated, and was gone forever.

There was a long moment of silence before everyone in Crystal Springs began cheering loudly, but Emerald wasn't done yet. The Chaos gems continued to glow, spreading rainbow prismatic light over the village, which soon started repairing itself before everyone's very eyes. Before long, Crystal Springs had returned to just the way it was before Prism had ever set foot in it, and all was well again.

-

Some time later, as everyone topside prepared for a celebration of Prism's defeat, Shadow and Snow had gone back down into the underground tunnels to retrieve their Mother's body, so that they may give her a proper burial.

One could only imagine their surprise and distress when they found Dark's lifeless body laying on the floor next to Callista's, his arms around her as his bloodied sword laid nearby. The twins were too stunned to move at first, Shadow then slowly stepping forward and kneeling down next to Dark. He looked to Snow.

"His throat's cut. Looks like he did it with his own sword."

"He killed himself..."

"Yes. Probably couldn't stand the thought of being without Mother, and I suppose when my younger self wasn't with her, he assumed I was dead too..."

Snow sighed sadly, tears stinging his eyes again.

"I wondered why we couldn't find Dad after Prism was defeated... at least he and Mom are together..."

Shadow nodded slowly, trying his best to hold back tears. After a few minutes of grief, Shadow gently picked up his Father's body while Snow picked up his Mother's.

"Come on... they deserve to have a nice funeral and be buried next to each other..."

Shadow said, Snow agreeing silently as they both left the tunnels.

-

A few days later, after the funeral and at the same time a celebration of Prism's defeat, Shadow found himself gently handing his younger self to Emerald, who was now back in her normal form, but no longer wearing her armour. She no longer needed it, and now wore a simple green shirt with a pair of brown pants.

"Are you sure about this, Shadow?"

She asked, the Hedgehog in question nodding to her.

"I'm positive. If I stay in the past much longer, I may interfere with and mess up history... that and without my parents here, well... I don't have much reason to stay here. Besides, Snow wants to see the future, and he'll be coming with me... he doesn't feel like he belongs her in Crystal Springs after what he did, even though everyone understands..."

Emerald nodded, looking down to the baby Hedgehog in her arms, the little one tilting his head curiously at her. She couldn't help but smile, feeling a little badly about what she was going to do next, but Shadow had requested it.

She sat the little one down on the ground before her and took a couple of steps back, taking the Chaos Crystal from her neck and summoning it's power, soft white light encircling the child just before he was safely encased in a block of crystal. Emerald looked to Shadow, who nodded a bit and said,

"Thank you, Emerald. Remember, Mystic Cave Zone. It may sound crazy, but that's where I'm found in the future."

"As you wish. I wish you and your Brother the best of luck."

"Thank you."

After a hug and a few final words to one another, Shadow and Emerald parted ways, the black Hedgehog walking down to the bay where his Brother sat on the same rock Shadow was sitting on when he'd met Emerald before, watching some dolphins play in the water not far away. Shadow placed a hand on Snow's shoulder, holding the Time Stone he'd found on the ARK in his other hand.

"Ready to go, Snow?"

Snow looked up and nodded, standing up. Shadow nodded, the two joining hands as the younger twin held up the Time Stone.

"Let's go then."

He said, the stone beginning to glow blindingly bright, and when the light faded, Shadow and Snow were gone; gone back to the future where Shadow had come from.

-

**The End**

**-**

_Well, the story's over, but I hope you all enjoyed it! Now, a final thanks to all my loyal reviewers;_

**playstation14**

**Writingcritter**

**ChaoticShadowofSouls**

**TwilightPrincess012**

**Ciel the Hedgehog**

**himegimiofdoragons**

_Thanks all of you for your great reviews and giving me the encouragement to keep posting! Hope you enjoyed the final chapter!_


End file.
